The Catchmaster 72 XL mouse and insect glue board is an extra-long (24×4-inch) monitor to provide wider coverage. It is designed to help keep pests from infesting goods in warehouses, storage facilities, supermarkets and other sensitive facilities. With the extra coverage, you can create protection zones around pallets and shelving. When used along the perimeter of a room, it can help prevent pests from entering.

Her primary focus at the company will be as a representative for the affordable housing industry.

“What we have found is that there is a need for quality education and training on bed bugs within the affordable housing sector,” says BedBug Central President Robert DiJoseph. “So we wanted to find a person that would be a great fit for that market, and that person is Sarah.”

Latyn received her master’s in Business and Science from Rutgers University in 2018 and says she has always had a love for bugs.

“We’re excited to add another member to our growing team,” DiJoseph says. “Sarah’s background and experience will provide a fresh perspective to the industry.”

Latyn says she is eager to help change the mindset behind bed bug treatments within typical public housing settings.

“What I am looking to do in my role at BedBug Central is show pest management professionals (PMPs) and public housing associates how bed bug infestations don’t have to be a continual, on-going issue for communities like they have been in the past,” Latyn says. “Eradication is possible, and you can do it without the burden of tenant preparations.”

Latyn will not only be an educator and presenter for various conferences and workshop, but she also will host her own YouTube series titled “Insects and the City.” The first episodes of “Insects and the City” are set to be filmed in March with an anticipated release date in April.

“The purpose of ‘Insects and the City’ is to provide PMPs and affordable housing associations the tools, training and knowledge they need to tackle the bed bug problems in their communities,” she says.

]]>https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/bedbug-central-hires-national-account-manager/feed/0https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/bedbug-central-hires-national-account-manager/The Austs celebrate romance worldwidehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mypmp/~3/iMcEfgq_91g/
https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/the-austs-celebrate-romance-worldwide/#respondThu, 21 Feb 2019 16:13:56 +0000https://www.mypmp.net/?p=42303If you caught NBC’s “The Today Show” earlier this week, you may have seen a familiar industry face in a slightly unfamiliar setting. That’s because Nick Aust, son of PMP Contributor Stuart Aust and a merger and acquisitions specialist for The Aust Group, Upper Saddle River, N.J., was interviewed alongside his bride, Zoe Aust. The pair were married in December 2017, and spent January through October 2018 traveling to more than 33 countries worldwide.

The Aust family at the 2018 PMP Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Pictured from left are Mike, Chris, Donna, Stuart, Zoe and Nick. PHOTO: Diane Sofranec

As the blurb introducing the video clip explains, “Nick and Zoe Aust thought of a way to recreate their picture-perfect wedding moment over and over again by traveling around the globe in their wedding-day attire – and documenting all of it on Instagram. The newlyweds talk on TODAY about their journey.”

The journey made news worldwide, too, from hometown newspaper the Hackensack (N.J.) Daily Voice to British newspaper The Daily Mail. According to the article appearing in the latter outlet, the pair’s travels included:

The Great Wall of China, China

Mount Everest

The Eiffel Tower Paris, France

Cathedral of Barcelona, Spain

Rome, Italy

Cappadocia, Turkey

Bamboo Forest, Kyoto, Japan

Cape Town, South Africa

Sri Lanka

Mykonos, Greece

Piha, New Zealand

Dubai

Capri, Italy

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Taj Mahal, India

Burj Khalifa, Dubai

Kotor, Montenegro

Mt Cook, New Zealand

Vienna, Austria

Positano, Italy

Nusa Penida, Indonesia

Judean Desert, Israel

Meiji Shrine, Tokyo

Sydney, Australia

Bali

Singapore

Eltz Castle, Germany

Indian Ocean

Great Pyramid, Egypt

Santorini

“Life is too short to wear your wedding dress once,” Zoe, 27, is frequently quoted as saying (she also notes that she is impressed that the dress held up through all the travel). She and Nick, 24, quit their respective jobs and used their life savings for the adventure. They hope to inspire other couples to work hard, but chase their dreams and see what the world has to offer, too.

Today, Stuart Aust assures PMP that Nick is back at The Aust Group, ready to help clients. The staff at PMP wishes nothing but the best for Nick and Zoe, whose adventures are documented on their blog, Marry Me In.

]]>https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/the-austs-celebrate-romance-worldwide/feed/0https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/the-austs-celebrate-romance-worldwide/B&G, AiroFog legal battle continueshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mypmp/~3/kGXZdA74B90/
https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/bg-airofog-legal-battle-continues/#respondThu, 21 Feb 2019 13:06:40 +0000https://www.mypmp.net/?p=42267B&G Equipment Co. filed a complaint in U.S. Federal Court against Airofog USA of Brooksville, Fla., as part of an ongoing legal battle over various pest control products made by Airofog that allegedly copied the design of specific B&G products.

The most notable of the disputed products is the B&G “Sprayer.” Class of 1998 PMP Hall of Famer Bill Brehm, founder of B&G, invented the sprayer with his classmate George Gilmore (the “G” in B&G). In 1957, Gilmore sold his stake in the business and Brehm became the sole owner.

Demand for the sprayer increased rapidly, and the B&G compressed air sprayer is now an industry standard. B&G has sold the product in the same configuration since at least 1962, and the product has always been manufactured in the United States, says the company.

In a 2017 Settlement Agreement, Airofog agreed to make specific design changes to its sprayer to make it look less like the B&G “Sprayer.” Airofog also agreed to mark its sprayer with a “Made In China” label, indicating the sprayer’s place of manufacture.

According to B&G’s complaint, which it filed on Feb. 14, 2019, Airofog failed to implement these changes, and continues to sell an infringing version of the B&G “Sprayer.”

Today, B&G is headquartered in Jackson, Ga., and operates out of an 85,000-square-foot manufacturing facility. The company is now owned by UK-based Pelsis Group.

In addition to its Brooksville, Fla., location, Airofog maintains operations in Germany, Shanghai, and Egypt. The company sells equipment for public health, vector control, agriculture and other markets in the Americas and Caribbean.

Brad Jenson, executive vice president of business development for Podium Corp., was the Wednesday keynote speaker for ServicePro’s ServSuite University taking place Feb. 19-21, in Nashville, Tenn. Podium, a Lehi, Utah-based customer interaction platform provider, is the event’s platinum sponsor.

Jenson told attendees that thanks to a combination of social media, search engine optimization (SEO) and online review sites, today’s consumers know more, want more, share more, do more and are more mobile. “Every day, that is increasing,” he added about the last point. “Instead of bringing a laptop, people are starting to just bring their smartphone to meetings, for example.”

Pest management firms need to not only make sure they’re easily found online, but that their presence is optimized for mobile devices. Jenson encouraged attendees in real-time to search for their firms on their phones for the Google MyBusiness listing. “This gives your ratings, your location, your information,” he said. If your phone system can accept and receive text messages, make that known on your profile, he advised, noting that on average, a service representative can respond to three text messages in the time it takes to complete one phone call.

“It’s actually better to have potential leads message you, because now you have their information in your pocket,” Jenson said. “Nobody can ‘not’ check texts. It reaches that person because they’re conditioned to check their phone.”

This is especially important after the visit, when you solicit an online review. Jenson quoted studies that found less than 20 percent of emails are read in a personal email account. By comparison, he said, texts have an open rate of 99 percent — 90 percent of which happens within three minutes of receipt. For those worried about breaking spam regulations, soliciting feedback from an existing customer does not fall under those parameters and is acceptable in the eyes of the law, Jenson said.

“Set an expectation for the review,” he said. “Train your technicians to let customers know when and how to expect to receive an invite — ideally, as a text before the tech leaves the premises — and why it’s important: ‘If you could leave us an honest account of our service today, it really helps us be the best in the business.’”

Keep it simple
But asking for the review is only part of the equation. They may only be willing until they find out they have to sign in or jump through hoops to leave feedback, Jenson said. That’s why you need to make it a frictionless process: “The easier it is to leave feedback, the more feedback you’ll receive,” he said.

This kind of instant feedback extends down to the home page of your website, where it’s easy to install a widget that says “Hi there! Have a question? Text us here,” Jenson explained. “You’ve got them texting you, it’s easier to convert that interest to customers.”

Jenson asked Marissa, an attendee who is a Podium user, to explain the benefits she’s seen in her Athens, Ga.-based firm. Although throughout the presentation, Jenson was quick to note that there are a variety of online review management tools on the market, and encouraged attendees to explore what works for them, Marissa brought up yet another benefit to text-based communication with customers: “It’s helped our collections rate, because a quick reminder text sent just once often results in them getting in immediate contact with us to say ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t know we had an outstanding bill.’”

Jenson reminded attendees, too, that getting one bad review on occasion, something that you can address and learn from, isn’t the end of the world. He told them to consider the longtime management tenet that “that which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially.” After all, Sir Richard Branson, the multi-billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, agrees with the sentiment: “You can never have enough feedback, and you can never stop learning.”

The ActiveSense system enables remote monitoring 24/7 to provide insights into pest activity, device tampering, temperature and system health. Its streamlined, highly accurate infrared sensor features an internalized antenna, so it can be used in virtually any multi-catch trap, station or other device without special tools or modifications. The sensor can also be used outside of traps to monitor pest runways. The ActiveSense system is quick and easy to install, the company says, thanks to smart hardware design and an intuitive native mobile app. Service technicians can activate sensors with just the tap of their smartphones. Technicians can access the data on any platform and from any device.

]]>https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/corteva-agriscience-activesense-update/feed/0https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/21/corteva-agriscience-activesense-update/Modern Pest Services buys Mastershieldhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/mypmp/~3/Jv_6IuFwYk0/
https://www.mypmp.net/2019/02/20/modern-pest-services-acquires-mastershield-pest-control-services/#respondWed, 20 Feb 2019 18:00:04 +0000https://www.mypmp.net/?p=42285Modern Pest Services, an Anticimex company, continues to expand in Connecticut with the acquisition of Mastershield Pest Control Services of Oxford, Conn. Among the other companies Modern acquired in Connecticut since early 2018 are Think GREEN Pest Control, Guaranty Pest Elimination and PestRx.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2004, Mastershield provides pest control to residential and commercial clients in Fairfield, New Haven, Litchfield, and Hartford counties. It’s service area aligned well with Modern’s current area of operations in Connecticut. Modern identified Mastershield as an acquisition target because of Mastershield’s commitment to integrity and customer service.

Dennis Dube, president of Modern, comments,“Mastershield is the latest in a growing list of partners we have found in Connecticut. We are thrilled to welcome the Mastershield team to Modern, and we are excited about our growth throughout New England, with this being our seventh acquisition in the last eighteen months.”

Chuck Bogannam, owner of Mastershield, adds, “The team at Mastershield is very excited about the new partnership with Modern. Modern’s expertise will allow us to provide an even wider range of specialized services to our customers, enhancing the ability to meet all customer pest control needs.”

Mastershield’s current operations will move to Modern’s local New Haven branch.

Founded in 1945, Modern Pest Services has more than 180 team members serving more than 26,000 homes and businesses in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Vermont.

Founded in 1934, Anticimex operates in 16 countries and has more than 5,000 employees worldwide. In the United States, Anticimex operates through its five platform companies: Modern Pest Services, Brunswick, Maine; American Pest Management, Fulton, Md.; Viking Pest Control, Bridgewater, N.J.; Turner Pest Control, Jacksonville, Fla.; and Killingsworth Environmental, Charlotte, N.C.

“Claims have changed dramatically since the 1990s,” McGinty began, noting he’s been with LIPCA for 28 years. “Especially now that so much is paperless, and electronic, the communication and discovery processes are very different.”

What hasn’t changed, he said, is the all-important need to document everything, for every account. “Handshake deals are over,” he told attendees. “And yet I’m still seeing it today. But all the clients know is, if something bad happens, it must be your fault.”

He illustrated the point with several true-life examples, including a company spared the misery of a wrongful death lawsuit because its documentation proved it did not use the product implicated in the situation.

“For claims, the best defense is a great offense,” McGinty said. “I love to attack right off the bat. I want them on their heels as soon as possible.” For that to happen, he added, written communication is the way to go, because there is less room for misinterpretation in the written word.

From properly worded contracts, to detailed graphs of the structure, to signed and dated training information, every slip of paper helps in the fight against a claim, he said. If you are denied access by a property manager during an inspection, McGinty suggests you follow up immediately with a letter to that person, documenting when and where you were denied access. Keep a copy of it, and proof that you mailed it yourself.

McGinty also warned to not let your heart get involved and start promising things like “I’ll take care of it,” which takes you into legally murky waters.

McGinty wrapped up his presentation by reminding attendees they don’t have to go it alone. From local, state and national associations, to social media industry groups, to industry experts and consultants, don’t be afraid to reach out and compare notes on contract wording and more.

He also stressed the importance of retaining an attorney that specializes in pest control.

“I’ve seen claims that have gone through because the lawyer didn’t know the difference between a pest and a pole vault,” he said.

I am very proud to serve our members as the new president of the United Producers, Formulators and Distributors Association (UPFDA). I’m looking forward to the time we will spend together and the things we will accomplish during my term.

PHOTO: UPFDA

Last year, UPFDA celebrated its 50-year anniversary — and we had a large turnout of members gather in Chicago, to make it a wonderful event. As we took some time to reflect on our history and past members, Immediate Past President Karen Furgiuele also set the tone of looking forward to things to come.

One of UPFDA’s mandates is to promote the general welfare of persons and firms engaged in formulating and distributing products used in the pest control industry. Another is to maintain an active role to upgrade our industry, to strive toward excellence and better cooperation between customer and supplier. It is within these combined purposes that UPFDA has a great deal of value, including:

Our industry is stronger because we provide a format to communicate with other members from different companies on issues that may affect us all. I am happy to have made so many good friends through UPFDA that I may not have gotten to know otherwise. Through these friends, I am able to understand our industry from different perspectives and viewpoints. These interactions make us better prepared to face challenges and shape where we are going in the future.

Our meetings are a springboard for the planning and execution of our industry strategies. As part of our spring conferences, for example, UPFDA is committed to bringing in speakers whose topics are timely, meaningful and add value. We have speakers that will discuss our current legislative environment, inform our current situation in the pest control industry and investigate future trends. We also have topics that will help our members build and learn professionally. Through our sessions and speakers, UPFDA looks for opportunities to upgrade members’ knowledge and skills so that we all are better able to take on any challenge we may face and continue to make the industry strong together.

UPFDA will host its 2019 Spring Conference April 23-24 on the Riverwalk in beautiful San Antonio, Texas. It is an excellent venue with plenty of networking opportunities and ways to relax and have fun. Whether it is joining our newly added golf outing, shopping or taking in the sights, there is something for everyone.

As I begin this term, I know our association will only thrive though its members’ input and participation. Please feel free to write me a note or give me a phone call. There are plenty of ways to get involved if you wish to help on one of our committees. I look forward to seeing you and having a great year with UPFDA.

Hodgson, the regional technical manager responsible for operations in Ohio, underwent rigorous studying and training to successfully complete the CWCP test, which consisted of 200 questions and three essays. CWCPs must earn scores of 85 percent or higher to pass the exam.

CWCPs demonstrate the highest level of expertise in applying the principles of wildlife damage management to the resolution of wildlife conflict with humans.

Hodgson’s elite designation as a CWCP sets him apart as a thoroughly trained, ethical and experienced professional who has been peer-evaluated and tested by a national trade association. All CWCP recipients must have at least five years and 10,000 hours of experience in wildlife control. They also must be current on NWCOA certifications and pledge to uphold and conduct business in an ethical and professional manner.

“Rose Pest Solutions has always prided itself on providing professional pest management services,” Hodgson says. “Being affiliated with NWCOA and having a CWCP designation for wildlife management is a perfect fit to continue that philosophy.”

Hodgson has worked in pest management for more than 28 years, with almost 15 of those spent at Rose Pest Solutions. He has a varied background with experience in both outdoor and structural pest management. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also recognized Hodgson’s contributions to the development of Michigan’s integrated pest management (IPM) training programs.